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Top officials of the Environmental Protection Agency will face lawmakers Thursday during back-to-back hearings. The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on power has invited the EPA's acting assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, Janet McCabe, to testify on the agency's proposed carbon emission rules for new power plants. Meanwhile, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will appear before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology to answer questions about her agency's accountability and transparency.

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The Environmental Protection Agency said it is committed to meeting the mandated deadlines for the Renewable Fuel Standard. Janet McCabe, the agency's acting assistant administrator for air and radiation, said she expects the RFS to remain intact and continue to release new renewable volume obligations determined through the EPA's calculations. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., defended the program before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's hearing Wednesday, saying "the law is sound. ... [L]egislative changes to the RFS are not needed."

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee will question the Environmental Protection Agency's acting air chief, Janet McCabe, on the agency's proposed Clean Power Plan and ozone rules Tuesday. The goal of the meeting is to draw lawmakers' attention to the Oct. 1 release of the EPA's ozone rule, said Chairman James Inhofe, R-Okla. "We're very much concerned on how punitive it is and to get it out into the public so everyone's aware of it," he said.

The Environmental Protection Agency will work as quickly as it can to finalize the Renewable Fuel Standard mandates for 2014 and 2015 next year and meet the Nov. 30 deadline for the 2016 mandate, Janet McCabe, acting assistant administrator for the agency's Office of Air and Radiation, told a House subcommittee Wednesday. Lawmakers criticized the agency for not giving a specific timeline on finalizing the rules. "You've got to have a goal that we can hang our hats on. Maybe Congress should issue a rule to repeal the [RFS]. I don't think we're asking for a lot here," Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., told McCabe.

Members of a House Oversight subcommittee criticized the Environmental Protection Agency for the delay in the release of the 2014 renewable volume obligations. Janet McCabe, the EPA's acting assistant administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation, said the delay is caused by challenges associated with the slow growth in cellulosic ethanol production and with the "blend wall." McCabe said she couldn't say when the RVOs would be finalized.

Top officials of the Environmental Protection Agency will face lawmakers on Nov. 14 during separate back-to-back hearings. The House Energy and Commerce subcommittee on power has invited the EPA's Acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Air and Radiation Janet McCabe to testify on the agency's proposed carbon emission rules for new power plants. Meanwhile, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will appear before the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology to answer questions about her agency's accountability and transparency.